April 4, 2023
Agency
Distracted Driving Awareness Month
As the parent of a new teen driver, there’s plenty to worry about.
You might question your teen’s skills behind the wheel. Or you’re concerned they’ll become distracted by a cellphone, other passengers or trying to eat while on the road.
Rather than simply hoping (or fretting) that your teens reach their destinations safely, you can begin the conversation now by teaching them about common distractions(link is external) — and how unsafe behaviors can lead to a crash.
The Pediatric Trauma Program at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital has ideas to help.
Consider these “S-M-A-R-T” tips for preventing distracted driving:
Teens and safe driving: the S-M-A-R-T method
[S]tay focused on driving
Keep your eyes on the road
Scan surroundings for hazards
Keep both hands on the wheel
Check for blind spots
[M]ake preparations before you begin
Secure children and pets
Find your sunglasses
Store loose items
Set the stereo, navigation tools and climate controls
Complete personal grooming or adjust clothing
Fasten your seat belt
[A]void all other activities
Don’t use your phone
Wait until the vehicle is stopped before:
Looking for loose items
Changing vehicle controls (air conditioner, mirrors, etc.)
Searching for music or changing the radio
Consuming food or drink
Reading a map or adjusting a GPS
[R]ely on passengers
To make phone calls or texts
To navigate your route
To secure pets or help children
To look for things in the vehicle
To adjust radio or climate controls
[T]ext or talk later — leave your phone alone!
Create a calm environment inside the vehicle
Ask friends and family not to contact you when they know you’ll be on the road
Let others know that you don’t talk on the phone or text while driving
Return the favor: Don’t call or text other drivers
Other ways to help
Families can request a teen driving kit from Mott’s Drive Smart(link is external) website. The kit includes a free “cell keeper” bag to hold your teen’s phone while he or she drives.
The campaign offers a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement(link is external) for young drivers and their parents to keep each other accountable for maintaining good habits.
There’s also Distractions Avenue(link is external), a simulation game to see how quickly you and your teen can choose to avoid distractions and arrive safely at your destination.
Most important, model safe driving behaviors yourself so your teens learn by example.
April 6, 2022
AgencyDistracted Driving Awareness Month
One of the leading causes of car accidents is texting and driving. Texting while driving is an increasingly common practice across all ages. Statistics report that an alarming one in five drivers text while behind the wheel. It is not just a problem with teens anymore! Regardless of who is doing it, one thing remains the same; texting while driving is extremely dangerous and could end up costing you or someone else their lives.
Another name for texting while driving is called distracted driving, which, according to the NHTSA, was responsible for claiming 3,477 lives just in 2015. Distracted driving includes doing things like eating, putting on makeup, texting, messing with the stereo, and talking on the phone while you are operating the vehicle. Even using GPS devices can be a distraction.
To help you break this dangerous driving habit, here are some helpful tips for you and all of the drivers in your home. If your teen driver balks at the new rules, you have to be firm and make it very clear: they follow the rules or they don’t drive the car at all.
One option to help teens drive safely is to enroll them in a defensive driving course. This will provide tons of valuable information and tips on how to avoid unsafe practices behind the wheel. Take it with them to make an even stronger impression.
Tips to Stop Texting While Driving:
- Turn the phone’s volume to silent (and keep vibrate off) – If you are tempted to grab your phone when it’s ringing or you hear it vibrating, repress this urge by turning the volume and vibration off completely while driving. You can’t be tempted by what you don’t hear.
- Keep the phone out of sight and reach – For some hardcore texters, having the volume and vibrate feature off may not be enough. They may still be tempted to grab the phone “just in case” someone has texted them. Keeping the phone out of reach and out of sight can fix this problem. Put your purse in the back seat where you can’t reach it. For super-stubborn texters, keep your purse or phone in your trunk. Then you won’t even try to get to it.
- Pull over and stop if it is important – If it is that urgent to send a message or answer the phone, take a few extra minutes to pull safely off the road and THEN text or answer the phone. It doesn’t take long to find a safe place to pull over. If an issue is not important enough to pull over and stop your vehicle properly for, it is not important enough to risk your life by messing with your phone while you are driving.
- Parents lead by example – You can’t expect you teen to listen if you ignore the rules while driving. Let them see you turning your phone off and putting it away before you start the car. It will emphasize the point you are making when you require that they do the same. There should be no exceptions to breaking the rules you set. It only takes once to have a text cause you to be involved in a serious and potentially fatal car accident. It’s not an age or experience issue, it is a safety and distracted driving issue.
- Use apps that can help monitor your teen while they drive – There are apps that lock the phone while the car is being driven, as well as texting behavior apps that can let a parent know exactly what is going on while the teen is behind the wheel. Regardless of what the teen may want, a parent must ensure, through whatever means necessary, that the no-texting-and-driving rule is being followed at all times.
- There must be consequences – You have to be tough when it comes to enforcing this life-saving and important driving rule. If you find that your teen is texting and driving, the consequences have to be strict and swift. There should be no second chances for this infraction. Letting it go and making it not a big deal could be sentencing your teen to a fatal accident. It IS a big deal, and as long as you treat it that way every single time, your teen will absorb its importance as well.
April 6, 2021
AgencyDistracted Driving Awareness Month
Sometimes I am amazed at how distracted I can be while driving. Before I worked here at Foremost (in my opinion, a very safety conscience company) I never realized how distracted I really was. Just last week, I asked myself a series of “have you ever” questions:
- -Have you ever arrived at your destination without really paying attention to how you got there because it is so routine?
- -Have you ever picked up your phone while you are driving, if only to check the time?
- -Have you ever looked down at the radio while changing stations?
- -Have you ever read billboards fully while driving?
- -Have you ever been so involved in a conversation on the phone that you forgot to make your turn?
- -Have you ever turned around to look in the back seat at your child talking or sleeping?
- -Have you ever reached for something in the back seat while driving?
- -Have you ever looked in the mirror to groom yourself for a second while driving?
Enough said. This list could go on and on, but the fact is, I answered yes to all the above. (I’m guessing some of you did too?). I’m not proud, but these are small things that we do as drivers that could end in disaster. I’ve learned through the past year that all I should focus on while I’m driving is… driving. I can’t say I’m perfect, but I’ve come a long way from the text crazy, distracted driver I once was.
So, to practice what I preach, here are some statistics from Distraction.gov to prove why distracted driving is so dangerous:
- Research indicates that the burden of talking on a cell phone – even if it’s hands-free – saps the brain of 39% of the energy it would ordinarily devote to safe driving.
- Our youngest and most inexperienced drivers are most at risk, with 16% of all distracted driving crashes involving drivers under 20. But they are not alone. At any given moment during daylight hours, over 800,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone or driving distracted.
- Using a cell phone while driving – whether it’s hand-held or hands-free delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
Check out these powerful and touching stories about distracted driving, and think twice before you pick up that cell phone while you are in the driver’s seat.